Top, Harvey Meissner, president and general manager of The Hidden Door and one of the trustees of the Anthony Bobrow Trust, presents a check for $100,000 to Access and Information Network (AIN). Pictured are, from left, AIN’s Development Director Mark Quigley, Meissner, AIN’s CEO Steven Pace, AIN’s COO Joni Wysocki and AIN’s Event and Volunteer Coordinator Miranda Grant. (Tammye Nash/Dallas Voice)
From Staff Reports
The Anthony Bobrow Trust in May has distributed donations of $100,000 each to both Legacy Counseling Center and AIN (Access and Information Network, formerly AIDS Interfaith Network) in May, bringing the trust’s total donations to more than $600,000 in its first full year of operation.
The Anthony Bobrow Trust was created by the estate of Anthony Bobrow, the Hidden Door owner who had died in February 2018, in May 2018, distributing $250,000 to AIN, Legacy and Resource Center in its first donations.
Harvey Meissner, the Hidden Door’s president and general manager, says the trust’s donations so far are just the beginning.
“Tony never forgot that The Hidden Door’s and his success came from its customers in the Dallas LGBTQ community,” Meissner said. “He left his entire estate to the
Trust. Its investment income and the net annual revenues of The Hidden Door make our contributions possible.”
In its first year the Anthony Bobrow Trust has donated $187,333 to AIN, $187,333 to Legacy Counseling Center, $125,000 to Hope Charities and $87,333 to Resource Center, and more than $15,000 in smaller donations to other Dallas groups.
Meissner noted that Bobrow grew up in Teague, Texas, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, and that the trust has also donated more than $50,000 to organizations there.
Harvey Meissner, president and general manager of The Hidden Door and one of the trustees of the Anthony Bobrow Trust, presents a check for $100,000 to Legacy Counseling Center. Pictured are, from left, Meissner, Legacy’s Executive Director Melissa Grove, and Legacy’s Development Director Emily Parker.
“Tony’s trust was established in a way that it will continue to fund Dallas and Teague service groups in future years,” Meissner said. “And the trustees have already named their successors, who will perpetuate its activities.”
Meissner also noted that part of the donations in the first year came from the closeout of the Jim Roberts Trust, established from the estate of the man who founded The Hidden Door in 1979. Bobrow purchased the bar following Roberts’ death in 1988.
We are so honored to receive this gift. Legacy Counseling Center operates in a very lean manner with 89 cents of every dollar going to patient care. We will be able to move mountains with this contribution and amplify the lives we help. Did you know approximately 20 cents of every dollar spent at the Hidden Door goes back into the community? Join us July 10th from 5-8 as we raise a glass at 6:30 at the Hidden Door to celebrate this fine organization.